FUNimation Channel Official Blog

So Mother’s Day is this weekend in the US. I’m going to spend the weekend taking my mom out for shopping. She loves shopping. She also loves Case Closed and Monster. Moms can be so awesome. Has your mom surprised you with an anime title you thought she wasn’t going to watch? Feel free to share your tales below. I’m sure there’s a mother out there who doesn’t mind watching a bit of Nana with a dose of Tsubasa Chronicle.

Here’s what’s up today on Comcast VOD:

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Platinum (PPV VOD)

• Evangelion 1.11
• Genghis Khan
• Case Closed movie 3 The Last Wizard of the Century
• Slayers Revolution ep 13 and re-air of ep 10
• Soul Eater eps 24 – 26
• Strike Witches eps 11 – 12 *Series ends June 4
• Hunter X Hunter eps 29 – 31 re-air

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Free (Free VOD)

• Case Closed eps 79 – 80
• Monster eps 6 – 7
• Kenichi eps 32 – 33
• Nana eps 6 – 7
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 31 – 34
• Black Cat ep 24
• Buso Renkin ep 12
• Black Blood Brothers ep 12
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 49 – 50

And for the latest on what’s airing on the linear service, jump to this link to get caught up. Stay tuned next week for some news and updates related to the linear channel.

* Programming Disclaimer: All Programming is subject to change at any time and without notice.

Its the last day of the month and May is literally around the corner. Got any plans for the weekend? I’ll be running in the Long Branch Half-Marathon this Sunday. The weather should be nice by race day. And its the start of Golden Week in Japan. What is Golden Week, you ask? Clicky here for the quick explanation of the holiday only Japan can pull off. I mean four national holidays celebrated within seven days. Talk about efficient.

Tomorrow – May 1st – is the one year anniversary of the launch of FUNimation Anime on Comcast VOD. Whoo hoo! Feel free to comment below on favorite shows you have seen or shows you want to see return. The channel has lots of plans this summer so stay tuned to the blog.

And a reminder, May 1st is the memorial service for Carl Macek. Please visit Robotech dot com‘s site for additional details. They were kind enough to post a message I sent them offering my personal condolences to the company and his family. His contribution to the anime industry was immense. I hope that the new generation of anime viewers will one day appreciate the passion and fervor that Carl displayed throughout his career in the industry. If you can’t attend the memorial service and would like to help the family in their time of need, you can visit Carl’s site and donate what you can.

And now for some of those VOD updates on Comcast:

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Platinum (PPV VOD)

• Slayers Revolution Eps 11 – 12

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Free (Free VOD)

• Case Closed Ep 78
• Kenichi Ep 31
• Nana Ep 05
• Black Cat Ep 23
• Buso Renkin Ep 11
• Black Blood Brothers Ep 11

And for the latest on what’s up on linear, go to funimation channel dot com slash schedule after the jump.

One last thing to mention to new viewers starting to catch the offering on Comcast - about 90% of the anime titles offered under Funimation Anime are FREE. The other 10% are PPV VOD.

*Programming Disclaimer: Scheduling is subject to change without notice at any time.

Hey folks! We are half-way through the month and convention season is well underway. Adam is out at C2E2 so stop by the FUNimation booth, say “hi” and support The FUNimation Channel by filling out our survey cards. C’mon people of Chicago. We know you want the channel as badly as the folks out in Seattle did. The survey cards are your chance to tell Comcast that you deserve the linear channel and that you can’t be ignored. And if you can’t attend the show or you are unable to stop by the booth, you can offer support by either calling or emailing your cable or satellite customer service rep.

Comcast does have a blog for customers to actually post to. They even have a Facebook fan page where you can let them know that you want to see The FUNimation Channel added to Comcast’s linear lineup. Got a Twitter account? Tweet Comcast @comcastcares. Let Comcast know that you exist. That you want the linear channel and that having FUNimation Anime On Demand simply isn’t good enough. You want it all – as a linear channel and on demand. But post politely

Here’s what’s new on Comcast’s VOD:

On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Platinum (PPV VOD)

• Initial D Fourth Stage eps 1 – 3 Special (Eng. dubbed)
• Slayers Revolution eps 8 – 10
• Soul Eater eps 21 – 23
• Strike Witches eps 8 – 10

 On Demand –> The Cutting Edge –> Funimation Anime –> Funimation Free (Free VOD)

• Case Closed eps 74 – 76
• Black Cat ep 21
• Buso Renkin ep 9
• Black Blood Brothers ep 9
• Gundam SEED Destiny ep 47

 And for updates on linear scheduling, visit The FUNimation Channel’s site and jump here for the schedule. PROGRAMMING DISCLAIMER: Programming on linear and VOD is subject to change.

Not a Comcast subscriber? No worries! Here are links to the following fan pages, Twitter accounts and blogs for Cox Communications, Charter Communications, DirecTV, Dish Network. Let them know you want The FUNimation Channel.

In a few weeks, we will unveil a new site that will energize this grassroots campaign to the next level. Stay tuned to this blog for more details.

Last week was fun. The folks in Seattle, WA were very nice in welcoming me to their convention. Congratulations again to our $250 Anime Prize Pack winner from the show.  Stay tuned to this blog because in the near future, we will unveil a whole slew of new things for the channel. We will also have a dedicated site for the campaign we launched last week at Sakura-Con. Good times ahead!

A couple things this week on Comcast VOD. We had some delays in receiving some titles over the holidays so some shows are going to extend episodes for an additional week. I blame lots of chocolate for the delay. I’ll note the shows below.

This week on Comcast VOD:

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime —> Funimation Platinum

• Evangelion 1.11
• Slayers Revolution eps 3 – 5 (extended for an additional week)
• Soul Eater eps 16 – 18 (extended for an additional week)
• Strike Witches eps 3 – 5 (extended for an additional week)
• Hunter X Hunter eps 32 – 34

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> Funimation Anime —> Funimation Free

• Case Closed eps 69 – 70 (extended for an additional week)
• Black Cat ep 20
• Buso Renkin ep 8
• Black Blood Brothers ep 8
• Gundam SEED Destiny ep 46

And highlights this month on linear include El Cazador De La Bruja, Monster, Nabari No Ou, Nana and Honey and Clover. For the schedule jump here.

Here are some pics from Sakura-Con. I might be attending C2E2 in Chi-town next week. Still waiting for final confirmation on that. If you are attending, give a shout-out! And keep checking this blog for latest updates on the I Want My FUNimation Channel HD campaign. It will be an all out effort.

Don’t let these cosplayers efforts go in vain. Let your cable or satellite operator know that you pay a lot for your service and that adding The FUNimation Channel to your linear lineup will make all your bitterness go away (or at least some of it go away).

I made it out of the rainy East Coast to arrive at a rainy Northwest Coast. Oh irony. And I’m hearing there’s a wind advisory today in the Puget Sound area of Seattle, WA. Challenging for cosplayers today who are attending Sakura-Con, I’m sure. Its my first time visiting Seattle and first time attending Sakura-Con. I’ll be at the FUNimation booth today and Saturday so stop by. I would love to meet you.

We are starting a major grassroots marketing push to launch The FUNimation Channel HD linear to more cable and satellite systems in the US. That debuts here at Sakura-Con. We need you guys – your feedback needs to be heard by the cable operators. I’ll explain more at the FUNimation industry panel on Saturday but basically, we have survey cards that we are asking all anime fans and viewers to fill out. Our target is to get thousands of survey cards filled out and delivered to Comcast Seattle to make them understand that The FUNimation Channel HD is a channel that makes a big difference and serves everyone – not just the anime fan – but everyone. What cable systems are telling us in meetings is that they don’t hear or read feedback from enough viewers to have the channel launched linear on Comcast. Let’s make some noise guys. We’re pretty close but we really need viewer support like never before. This is your big chance to make a huge difference and prove that The FUNimation Channel HD is as necessary to you as ESPN HD or HBO HD.

I know that some people think that your emails or calls to your cable or satellite operator doesn’t make a difference. That its basically money that gets a channel launched linear on systems. Actually, it takes both – money and your voices. Fans and viewers DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Let’s get this campaign rolling. Let your cable and satellite operators know that “I WANT MY FUNIMATION CHANNEL HD!”.

And now for your VOD updates on Comcast:

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime Platinum (Transactional VOD)

• Initial D Third Stage movie
• Case Closed 6 movie The Phantom of Baker Street
• Slayers Revolution eps 6 – 7
• Soul Eater eps 19 – 20
• Strike Witches eps 6 – 7
• Hunter X Hunter eps 29 – 31

On Demand —> The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime (Free VOD)

• Case Closed eps 71 – 73
• Monster eps 1 – 5 xD
• Kenichi eps 27 – 30
• Nana eps 1 – 4
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 27 – 30 <— Season 2 :bloody:
• Black Cat ep 19
• Gundam SEED Destiny ep 45

And here are some programming highlights for linear viewers. Thanks to jlaking for pointing out that tomorrow – April 3rd – marks the start of Monster on The FUNimation Channel linear. Its Monster Month on VOD and linear!

Other highlights include El Cazador De La Bruja, Nabari No Ou and new episodes of  Honey and Clover and Nana. For the latest listings, go visit The FUNimation Channel’s grid at the jump. And programming is subject to change without notice.

Have a Happy Easter weekend and stay dry. Remember, “I WANT MY FUNIMATION CHANNEL HD!”

March was supposed to come in like a lion and then go out like a lamb. At least that’s what the calendar told me.

I ran in the Tokyo Marathon last week and it was a good experience. Thanks for your comments last week.  Sadly, I didn’t make it to the finish line since I wasn’t able to cross the 15k within its time limit (the marathon has time limits every 5k). I slowed down too much and I thought I could eek my way at the turn but no I screwed up. Worst part, having a Japanese TV crew with their camera in your face asking how it felt to be cut off from finishing the race.  They brought a whole new level to agony of defeat. And it was broadcast live throughout the country. I will have to say, it was quite a different challenge. Unlike running marathons here in the States, there its really about racing against the clock. Very interesting. I did notice a few runners cosplaying as Chopper from “One Piece” and of course a few folks cosplaying as Krilin from “Dragon Ball Z”. I wonder how far they went?

I did visit the UNIQLO store in Harajuku and they are now selling those Toei t-shirts that they mentioned a couple months back. The shirts they have are from the following: Dragon Ball, Devilman, One Piece, Dr. Slump, Galaxy Express 999 and Saint Seiya. Oddly, no Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure or Marmalade Boy or Air Gear. Hopefully, if this first run with the Toei line becomes successful we can eventually see more down the road. I luv the capsules!

Ok! Back to VOD reality. We have a whole bunch of updates today on Comcast VOD. Here’s what’s up:

The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime —> FUNimation Platinum

• Case Closed movie 4 Capture in Her Eyes (also found under Movies —> By Genre —> Anime)
• Case Closed movie 5 Countdown to Heaven (also found under Movies —> By Genre —> Anime)
• Slayers Revolution eps 1 – 5    BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW!
• Soul Eater S1 Pt. 2 eps 14 – 18    BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW!
• Strike Witches eps 1 – 5   BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW!
• Hunter X Hunter eps 23 – 25

The Cutting Edge —> FUNimation Anime —> FUNimation Free

• Case Closed eps 64 – 67
• Negima! eps 24 – 26   FINAL WEEKS!
• Shuffle! ep 21, ep 24   FINAL WEEKS!
• Solty Rei eps 22 – 24  FINAL WEEKS!
• Tsubasa Chronicle eps 23 – 26
• Black Cat eps 13 – 16
• Buso Renkin ep 4
• Black Blood Brothers ep 4
• Gundam SEED Destiny eps 39 – 40

And for the latest on what’s airing on linear, go here. The channel is expanding later this year so stay tuned. I’ll also let you guys know if yours truly will be attending upcoming anime conventions.

Continue to ask your digital cable and satellite providers to carry The FUNimation Channel in their programming lineup. Your calls and emails to your customer service rep does indeed make a difference and helps us during our discussions with those cable and satellite providers. The greater the demand, the easier it is for us to make the operators realize the benefit to launching the linear service.

*Programming Disclaimer: Schedules are subject to change at any time and without notice.